Corrugating machine



Feb. 25, 1941. WVPARRISH ETAL 2,232,964

CORRUGATING MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 26, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l 3 68zz 74 l" 46 J J4 6'8 52 me 0 9 I00 I02 I 8 I 44 O O O [/8 I3 90 4 0 Fig.z

#1145 W Farms/1 LHWREA/(E G, D/CAESO/V INVENTORS.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 25, 1941 PATENT OFFICE CORRUGATING MACHINE Hale W.Parrish, South Bend, Ind., and Lawrence G. Dickeson, Bridgeport, Conn,assignors to National Standard Company, Niles, Mich, a corporation ofMichigan Original application October 26, 1933, Serial No.

695,270. Divided andthis application November 14, 1938, Serial No.240,230

3 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for corrugating' metal stripslengthwise, for example for use in making flexible conduits, and isillustrated as embodied in a machine for formingsuch conduits byhelically winding the strips over a mandrel.

An'object of the invention is to provide simple and very effective meansfor adjusting the spring tension acting on the corrugating rolls of sucha machine. Another object is to provide mountings for the rolls suchthat in case something goes wrong the rolls can be quickly and easilyseparated without changing the adjustment of the spring tension, so thatwhen the parts are again in place the springs or their equivalents areheld under the same tension as before.

The above and other objects and features of the invention, includingvarious novel combinations of parts and desirable particularconstructions. will be apparent from the following description of theillustrative embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side .elevation of the machine showing the series ofcorrugating rollers and the mandrel and the bending roller;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the opposite side of the machine showingthe intermeshing driving gears; Figure 3 is a partial section of theline 3-3 of Figure 1 showing the mounting of the shafts of the machineand particularly the means for adjusting the pressure on the corrugatingrollers;

and

Figure 4 isa partial section on the line 4-4 of Figure3 showing themeans for temporarily releasing the upper shaft without disturbing theadjustment which determines the pressure on the corresponding spring.

The invention is shown in the drawings embodied in a machine fullydescribed in our application, No. 695,270, filed October 26, 1933, nowPatent No. 2,162,355 of which the present application is a division.

The illustrated machine comprises a suitable base Ill supported on legsI2 and having at one end a pair of brackets l4 for rotatably supportinga reel l6 of material such as a long narrow strip of steel plated withcopper or other bonding material on both sides.

The desirability of the use of this particular material, or a similarmaterial is more fully set forth in Patent No. 1,964,289, granted June26, 1934 to Clayton C. Harrah, and which describes and claims thecomplete method of forming the corrugated conduit in a novel series ofsteps of which the corrugating operation performed by means such as asprocket chain 26 with a gear reduction unit 28 having a low ,speeddriving shaft 30 drivably connected by means such as a second chain 32and suitable sprockets cooperating therewith to: a'shaft 34. The shaft34is shown with a small pinion 36 meshingwith a large driving gear 38which has at its hub 40 a small gear described below and which drivesthe series of gears for the corrugating and forming rollers. v

There are a series of pairs of corrugating and forming rollers 42-44,46-48, 50-52, 5456, 5880, 62-454, etc. These rollers are formed forprogressively forming and deepening a corrugationin a strip 66 of steeldrawn from the reel IS. The upper rollers 42, 46, etc., are mounted onhorizontal shafts 6 8 which are journalled near theirends in bearings 10(Figure 3) carried by pairs of swinging arms 12 fixedly mounted onpivots or shafts 14 mounted in fixed bearings.

The bearings Ill for these upper shafts are arranged as shown in Figures3 and 4 near the bottom ends of slots 16 in the machine frame and urgedtoward the bottoms of the slots 16 by shoes 18 which are urgeddownwardly by strong springs 80 so that the corresponding rollers areheld in their lowermost positions against the material being corrugatedunder spring pressure. I V

The pressure of the springs 80 may be adjusted by turning stops 82 whichare threaded into holding plates 84. Plates 84 are detachably secured bymachine screws 86 to the machine frame. By loosening or removing thefastenings 86, the assembly 82-84--88 may be swung out of the way, sothat the spring-held shaft may be allowed to swing upwardly in its arms12, in case of a jamming of the strip 66 or the like. After making thedesired correction or removing the jammed metal, the plates 84 arereplaced and the fastenings 86 tightened or replaced to give the sameadjusted tension of the springs l8 from which there leads a conduit 80as before without requiring any new adjustment of the stops 82. Thestops 82 may be locked in their adjusted positions by means such as locknuts 88. The lower rollers 44, 48, etc., are mounted on shafts 90rotatably mounted in fixed bearings carried. by the machine frame.

The shafts 68 and 90 are provided at the ends shown in Figure 2 withpairs of intermeshing gears 92, so that each of the upper shafts 68 isdriven directly and at the same speed by the corresponding shaft 90.Another geanM. meshes with each adjacent pair of the .lower series ofgears 92 so that all of thegears 92 are driven at the same speed, allofthe lower seriesin one direction and all of the upper series in theopposite direction. The center one of the lower series of the gears 92is attached to or integral with the hub 40 of the 'largedriving gear 38described above.

From the foregoing description it will beseen that the gear 38 which isdriven ultimately by the motor 24 drives all of'the rollers 42 to 65 anddrawsthe strip 66 through the machine, at the same timeforming andgradually deepening the corrugation in this strip. In order to provide asubstantially constant drag on the strip 66, the strip is urged againsta plate -35 by a friction cam 98 urged in a direction to clamp the strip66 by means such as a spring Iilli. A

e suitable block I02 of lubricating material may be urgedyieldingly'against the strip-'66 by aspring I04.

Just beyond and in line with the last pair of rollers 62-454, there is apair of members comprising an upper roller I06 which is substantiallylike the roller 62 but which instead of cooperating with a lower formingroller similar to the roller 64 cooperates with a rotating bendingmandrel I08. The roller I06 and mandrel I08 are driven by the lastpairof gears '92. A short distance angularly around the mandrel I08there .is arranged a bending roller H0 having a profile corresponding tothat of the corrugated strip, and which bends the strip on a circularare about the mandrel. The exact curvature of the strip as it is sobent, and therefore the diameter of the conduit, is determined bytheposition of the roller H0 angularly with respect to the mandrel I08.The further the bending roller H0 is adjusted around the mandrel I08,the smaller the diameter of the conduit which is formed.

A pair ofguide rollers H2 and H4 are preferably provided to guide thestripas it is so bent about the bottom of the mandrel I08 v(although notnecessarily or usually in contact therewith) to cause'the properoverlapping of the margins of adjacent convolutions to form the spirallyor helically wound conduit H6 as shown in Figure 6. The guide rollers H2.and H4 are shown mounted onslides H8 adjustably clamped in guides I20.

While one illustrative embodiment has been described in detail, it isnot our intention to limit the scope of the invention to that particularembodiment, or otherwise than by the terms of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A machine for forming corrugated strips for use in making conduits orthe like comprising a frame carrying a plurality of pairs of parallelshafts having intermeshing gears at their ends 'on one side of the frameand cooperating corrugating rolls at their ends on the other side of theframe, the gears of the lower shafts being drivenby power, each of theupper shafts having a pair of bearings adjacent its ends, parallelpivotally-mounted swinging arms on the frame carrying said bearings,said frame being formed in its sides with substantially vertical slotsin which the bearings are movable, springs in said slots engaging thebearings and urging them toward the other shaft, holding platesremovably secured v to the frame over the slots, and adjustable stopscarried by the holding plates and engaging the springs to vary theircompression, said holding plates being releasable to release the springswithout altering the setting of the stops.

2. In a machine for corrugating strips and the like and having a frameformed with an open vertical slot in its side, the combination of a pairof shafts mounted on the frame and carrying cooperating corrugatingrolls and having intermeshing driving gears thereon, one of said shaftsbein fixedly journaled in the frame, a bearing for the other of saidshafts movable in said slot, a pivotally mounted swinging arm on theframe carrying said bearing, a spring engaging the bearing to urge ittoward said one of the shafts, an adjustable stop for the spring, and aholding plate carrying the adjustable stop and releasably secured to theframe adjacent the slot so that when the holding plate is released thespring will be released without altering the setting of the adjustablestop.

3. In a machine for corrugating strips and the like and having a frameformed with an open vertical slot in its side, the combination of a pairing into the slot, and a holding plate carrying r the adjustable stopand releasably secured to the frame over the open end of the slot sothat when the holding plate is released the spring Will be releasedwithout altering the setting of the adjustable stop.

HALE W. PARRISH. LAWRENCE G. DICKESON.

